Animal Shelter Lacks Spirit For The Holiday Shopper

What child wouldn't love to come downstairs on Christmas morning to find a tiny cocker spaniel or golden retriever wagging its tail beneath the tree?

And aren't the holidays a perfect time to adopt a stray animal? Everyone in the house is so full of good will that an orphaned dog or cat would surely feel welcomed.

The answer to these questions, said Gail Donahue, supervisor of Orphans of the Storm pet shelter in Riverwoods, is no.

This time of year, Orphans of the Storm sees lots of people who want to make a Christmas gift out of one of the shelter's 200 dogs or 250 cats.

In the nicest way possible, Donahue said she tells these well-meaning gift-givers that Christmas is not the best time to bring an animal into the house. Taking home a pet is a wonderful thing to do, but people need to remember that a dog or cat will be around long after the holiday spirit that may have inspired its adoption has disappeared.

"We want people to adopt, but we want them to know that pets are not gifts," Donahue said.

At Christmastime, people are too busy to give a pet the attention it needs, said Elaine Dale, an adoption counselor at the shelter.

"It's the holiday season, everybody's high on the fact that Christmas and Hannukah are around the corner. There are parties, activities going on," she said. "We try to discourage holiday adoptions. We say. `Come out after New Year's. They'll still be here.' Unfortunately, we never run out of animals."

Orphans, which has been on Riverwoods Road since 1928, takes in strays from pounds throughout Lake County. It usually adopts out about 2,000 dogs and 3,000 cats a year.

Adopting a dog costs $55 and a cat $40. The fee covers the cost of vaccinations, spaying or neutering, a collar, tag, leash and food, and a veterinary checkup.